


Wolf's Clothing

by KivaEmber



Category: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Feral Behavior, Gen, pre-canon AU, raised by demons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-15
Updated: 2012-12-15
Packaged: 2017-11-21 05:34:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/594023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KivaEmber/pseuds/KivaEmber
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamato wakes up in a cave full of demons, and is immediately fought over by a hungry Nue and a bad-tempered Cerberus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wolf's Clothing

“Me want to eat it.”

“You can’t eat it.”

“Me want to. It so pudgy.”

“If you eat it, you’ll have to suffer Lord Nan Dou’s wrath.”

“But me want to…”

Yamato groaned quietly as the chattering voices seeped through the thick darkness, a throbbing ache pounding between his temples. Ouch…everything hurt so much…and the ground he was lying on was so hard and rocky. Did he faint during meditation again? He found his thoughts and memories all in a muddle, finding it difficult to grasp anything truly solid.

Ouch…

“It awake!”

“Quiet, you idiot! I don’t want it crying!”

What were those voices? Yamato couldn’t recognise any of them, and – wait a minute, they weren’t speaking Japanese. The sibilant hiss, guttural growls, this was – Demonic. The language of demons. It was something all Hotsuin had to learn very early in life, as the majority of their dealings with demons was done with their tongue, as human language was beyond some species of them.

With a sinking feeling of dread settling in his stomach, Yamato slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurry, and the pain between his temples throbbed harder. Looming over him were two shapes, although the edges were fuzzy and indistinct.

There was a bird like warble. “It eyes open! It awake! Can me eat it now?”

“How many times do I have to tell you?” one of the shapes growled, the noise of snapping jaws sounding out. “You  _can’t_  eat it!”

Yamato blinked a few times, his vision clearing, and he froze when one of the shapes leaned down, the dark face of a Nue terrifying close. Light glinted off of dagger like teeth, and round, red eyes blazed with hunger. The smell wafting from its open mouth stank of carrion, and it almost made Yamato gag.

“Wh…wh…” Yamato stammered, paralysed with fear as the Nue made a few curious noises, its mouth opening and closing, making its fangs click together audibly.

“Me think it scared. Me smell it. It deliciou _ssssss_ …”

There was a low, animal like groan, and Yamato’s wide-eyed stare shifted past the Nue to see the massive form of a Cerberus sitting close by. The lion demon was giving the Nue a rather irritated look, its lips peeled back in a small snarl.

“You’re drooling, monkey,” the Cerberus snapped.

The Nue thankfully pulled away, its snake tail hissing furiously as the demon let out a shriek. “Monkey?  _Monkey_?! Me no monkey, cat!”

“ _Cat_?!” Cerberus bellowed, surging to its feet immediately. The two demons snarled and growled at each other, and Yamato slowly started crawling away while the two were occupied. Although he didn’t want to take his eyes off of the demons, he had to take stock of his surroundings. It looked like he was in some sort of cave, dank and smelling of mould, with no clear way of where the entrance was.

Great. It seemed like he had been taken to a demon lair. How? He couldn’t remember how this could’ve happened. Demons, Lord Nan Dou…? That name was familiar – no, it was a powerful Deity – a god did this…?!

“Me hate you! Cerberus just nag! Nag nag nag! Not eat pudgy human! Not do this! Not do that!”

“Lord Nan Dou put  _me_  in charge of the human’s wellbeing! I will not be punished because you cannot control yourself! If you’re so hungry go eat that irritating rabbit! It’d be something  _useful_!”

“NAG NAG NAG!”

“Grrrr….!! I’LL SHOW YOU  _NAGGING_!”

The two demons leapt at each other, roaring and snarling as they clawed and wrestled with one another. Yamato took that as his cue to hurriedly clamber to his feet and run as fast as he could. The rocky floor was sharp and slippery, and his feet were bare. Pain lanced at his soft soles, but he merely bit his bottom lip and struggled onwards, the shrieks and howls echoing after him.

He had to get out of here! But where?! How?!

Yamato’s foot suddenly met air, and he cried out as he tumbled downward on a sudden steep slope. In the tumbling confusion he managed to protect his head with his arms before finally ending in a crumpled heap at the bottom, a throbbing ache permeating his entire being. His ankle hurt the most, a sharp stabbing pain shooting up towards his knee.

“Ow…” Yamato sniffled, slowly pushing himself up. He sat on his rear, his hands moving down onto his ankle. It hurt to touch, his vision flashing white when his fingers lightly pressed against it, and he bit back a whimper, tears stinging his eyes. His soles were hurting, and in the dim light, he could see smears of red seeping between his toes.

Ouch ouch ouch…

“Oh dear, are you hurt?”

“Ah!”

Yamato threw himself sideways, his shoulder slamming against the slope he had tumbled down earlier. The voice had come from near his elbow, startling him horribly, and he stared wildly at the white rabbit sitting before him, its long ears slicked backwards.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” the rabbit said, carefully hopping closer to him. “Tut tut, look what you’ve done to yourself. I think you broke your ankle. Humans can be so clumsy…”

“Y-You’re…Hare of Inaba?”

“Oh, you know of me?” the hare seemed pleased, sitting up and lifting its paws to groom one of its ears. “Yes, yes, I am Hare of Inaba. A bit of a peculiar place to be a rabbit, I know. This lair is mostly of the beasts and wilders…always a challenge to stay alive…especially with that gluttonous Nue around…”

Yamato felt his heart calm a little. Although a demon, the Hare of Inaba was a rather mild one. It only attacked when provoked, and was the weakest demon in the Wilder class. But wait-

“So…this  _is_  a demon lair?”

“Well, yes?” the Hare stopped its grooming. “It’s quite obvious isn’t it? Oh, wait…are you the human Lord Nan Dou saved? Hm…I expected you to look more, impressive.”

Yamato frowned at that. “Lord Nan Dou is a Deity demon – what do you mean he saved me?”

“You don’t remember? Oh, well, it must’ve been very traumatic. You’re a child human, yes? It’s hard to tell, they all look the same but…hrm, well…” the Hare seemed to think to itself. “Well, let me tend to your ankle first.”

Yamato curled up a bit reflexively, before cautiously extending his injured foot to the Hare. The demon hopped a bit closer, gently placing its front paws on Yamato’s ankle. The skin was already beginning to swell up, and Yamato bit his bottom lip at the light pressure applied by the hare, pain jolting up his knee again.

A soft light covered the hare’s paws, and the pain slowly ebbed until a dull ache remained. The ankle was still swollen, and there were even the beginnings of a bruise, but the pain was more tolerable.

“There we are. Not fully healed, but I think you can walk on it now,” the Hare remarked, hopping back a step. “Now, let us go somewhere a bit more comfortable. You must be very confused and frightened.”

“I’m not frightened,” Yamato muttered defensively. He slowly climbed to his feet, wincing when he applied weight to his ankle. “Just confused.”

The hare gave him a disbelieving look, its nose twitching slightly. “…Come along,” it merely said, turning away and bounding into the darkness. Yamato limped after it.

After a few minutes of walking, the tunnel opened up into a wide, underground lake. The water was translucent, a shimmering, unearthly green, the ceiling of the cave alight with luminescent glow worms. Yamato blinked and stared in open awe. He had never seen anything like this before – only in books…

The noise of sloshing water drew his attention, and he almost jumped backwards when the head of a crocodile broke the surface of the water, a thick metal collar tight around its neck. The Hare seemed unconcerned however, even bounding over to the edge of the lake – well within reach of those long jaws.

“Ammut,” the Hare greeted, its little tail wriggling from side to side. “This is the human Lord Nan Dou saved. Poor thing is in a right tizzy.”

“Is that so?” the demon croaked, its eyes focusing on Yamato. “Come closer, will ya? These eyes aren’t what they used to be…”

Yamato’s first instinct was to scoff and back away, but against his better judgement he slowly limped to the edge of the lake before sitting down with his knees drawn to his chest. He flinched when a wet snout pressed against his injured ankle, a soft huff escaping the crocodile.

“Cerberus was to tend to ya. Where is that oversized cat?”

“Fighting with the Nue,” Yamato replied as calmly as he could, his voice trembling slightly. “It wanted to eat me.”

The crocodile wheezed out a laugh. “That Nue wishes to eat everything – do not take it to heart.” A pause, “Although a few of the beasts here would like to eat ya, so caution should be exercised. They cannot see the use ya’d serve in the future, more focused on the present, and their bellies.”

That didn’t fill Yamato with confidence. “Um, what do you mean ‘use’?”

“Lord Nan Dou saw a purpose in ya,” Ammut replied, “A very useful one. Very beneficial. Who are we to question him? Well, except Taowu, but he spreads lies and deceit with his fortunes…”

“Oh, Taowu…” the Hare shuddered. “You should avoid that – that  _brute_. He is a very nasty, violent being. Most demons avoid him.”

Yamato already knew that; it was a demon that tried to lure men from enlightenment with its divinations – it represented human ignorance, and was a vicious, violent creature. It didn’t help that it was a reasonably powerful demon of the Wilder class either.

“I see. Well, what if I don’t want to fulfil this ‘purpose’?” Yamato demanded. “I’m- I have a duty I am tied to already! I serve the Hotsuin family, and I am to take the mantle of its Chief in a few years – I have no time to be living with demons!”

Hare and Ammut exchanged glances.

“Well…” the Hare began awkwardly. “Of course, we can’t exactly  _force_  you to stay with us, but…well, it is a bit complicated, regarding your, um, family, that is…”

“They already think ya dead,” Ammut interrupted. “Or rather, ya may as well be. Heh. Ya failed the test, didn’t ya? The Hotsuin pushed ya aside without thinkin’, and we claimed an abandoned tool. Ya should be thanking Lord Nan Dou in having such mercy and understanding…”

“W-What?” Yamato stared at the crocodile demon in horror. No that wasn’t – test? No, he, he failed  _It_? That was impossible! He had been training and- no, why couldn’t he remember?! They had to be mistaken – he didn’t-!

“You’re…y-you’re lying…”

Ammut laughed wheezily. “I’m not lying, human child. ‘Course, ya free to go and see for yaself. Go back to the Hotsuin, see them shun ya, then have no choice but to return to us.”

Yamato felt like there was a whirlwind thundering through his mind. Was this a trick? Demons were sly creatures, even the stupid ones, but why would they try to trick him? Entertainment? He was a child, full of spiritual energy; they should’ve eaten him by now instead of messing with him. Were they all that obedient to Lord Nan Dou? Why? Yamato couldn’t recall him to have any measure of control over Beast and Wilder demons…

Why would Lord Nan Dou be interested in him anyway? If it was true, and Yamato failed synchronisation with the Dragon Stream-

Wait.

“No. If I failed that test, I would be dead. If you don’t synchronise with it, you die, it’s as simple as that.”

The water rippled around Ammut as if the crocodile had shrugged. “I don’t know the details of it. Lord Nan Dou said ya had purpose of use, not to eat or harm ya, and to otherwise leave ya alone.”

Yamato raked his fingers through his hair, resisting the urge to pull and grab at it in frustration. What should he do…?

“Where is this lair? Whereabouts in Japan?”

“Ohh, we are within Mt. Fuji,” Hare answered. “We even have a room that’s so nice and cosy in winter, from the magma within…”

Mt. Fuji? That was where the Dragon Stream was kept locked in place. If he could somehow get to the control panel – ah he didn’t have the proper identification to enter the facility, but if he attempt to – they would send JP’s members and he would be found…

But Mt. Fuji was crawling with demons. Even if the ones that resided here had orders not to harm him, there were others that would be under their own power, and would have no problem in gobbling up a seven year old.

“…you said Cerberus was ordered to be my personal guard?”

Ammut chuckled throatily. “Ya have a plan, don’t you? Humans are always tricky little creatures. But yes, Cerberus was to be ya caretaker. He is a very bad-tempered demon though…”

“Especially around that gluttonous Nue,” Hare sniffed, “Those two just fight day in, day out… it’s a miracle they haven’t killed each other by now.”

“So if, perhaps, I wish to leave the lair, Cerberus would have to accompany me, otherwise he would be punished for incompetence,” Yamato continued, ignoring the hare.

“Basically, yes. How frightful,” Ammut sniggered, slowly sinking beneath the green water. “Humans are so ruthless in using others…”

The crocodile demon vanished, the lake’s rippling surface stilling, and Yamato looked up at the glowing ceiling thoughtfully. He had a plan. It was probably a very stupid, risky plan, but he wasn’t going to stay here playing House with a group of demons who would sooner devour him than live with him.

Hare was grooming itself, its little paws rubbing at its snout. “Well, I suppose you want to find Cerberus now.”

“Yes. I need to leave immediately.”

“Ahh, as you wish. I may accompany you as well. Anything to get out of this cave for a little while…”

Yamato rose to his feet as Hare began to scamper off. He refused to believe that he had been discarded by the Hotsuin family – and he would prove it. He had probably been kidnapped by the Deity for a nefarious use (which didn’t make sense as Lord Nan Dou was one of the kinder ones). And even if he had failed he- he would prove his worth by returning home from such a situation.

He had to believe that… 


End file.
